Childhood Dreams
by choccobee
Summary: A collection of oneshots about Yahiro, Kei, and Akira's childhood; told from different points of views.
1. Chapter 1: First Meeting

**Disclaimer: In no way do I own any of these characters, or the original story. They all belong to Minami Maki. **

Takishima Kei. Even at a young age, he seemed unreachable. Because of that, nobody wanted to get close to him.

Toudou Akira. A tea-loving girl. She didn't speak much, and so nobody went near her either.

Saiga Yahiro. A young boy with a cold and powerful exterior. Always making others cry, it was no wonder nobody wanted to be his friend.

The day the three of them first met, they all thought the same thing.

_They're just like everyone else, judging me before they get to know me._

* * *

"Yahiro, this is Akira and Kei. Go play with them, okay?"

The girl with long black hair gave me a skeptical look that hinted at whether or not I was good company. The blond boy glanced at me with boredom in his eyes. I only scowled at them, and walked away.

I went to my secret place, the one that not even Mom and Dad knew about. It was the one place that I could get away from everyone. I lay down on the giant tree stump and stared up into the clouds. It was nice and quiet, just the way I liked it.

I knew I was a bit of a disappointment to my parents. After all, they do have a reputation to keep. But I hated people who looked at me and assumed that they knew what kind of a person I was. Just like those two kids earlier. What were their names again? Oh yeah, Akira and Kei. I had no doubt that they were just like every other kid I've met – snobby and spoiled. It wasn't long before I drifted off into sleep.

* * *

I woke up to a voice breaking through my world of silence.

"Yahiro! Where are you?" It was Mom. I quickly got up and went back to the house. Mom spotted me, and ran over. "Oh Yahiro, where were you? Where're Akira and Kei?"

I gave her a questioning look. Akira and Kei? Weren't they the two from earlier this afternoon? How was I supposed to know where they were? I responded, "I don't know."

"But didn't you guys go play?" she asked.

"No," I replied coldly.

Mom sighed, and went back outside to entertain her guests. As for me, I just stayed in my room for the remainder of the day.

* * *

The following week, I was called downstairs to say hello to some guests again. They weren't in the garden like last week, since it was raining. My parents usually had different people over every week, so I was really surprised to see Akira and Kei sitting in my living room that day.

My Mom saw me coming in, and said, "There you are!" Quietly, just to me, she told me, "You'll be seeing Akira and Kei quite often, so please be nice to them, okay?" My face remained expressionless as I nodded. She nudged me in the direction of where they were sitting.

Reluctantly, I sat down on a chair opposite from them. Out of politeness, I muttered, "I'm Yahiro. Nice to meet you," when really, I wasn't glad to have met them at all.

Before they could say anything back, I had left the room. I went into the tea parlour, and sat down on one of the chairs. There was no way that anyone could know where I was.

Deep in my thoughts, I didn't even notice someone coming into the room. Out of nowhere, two people came and sat in front of me. I looked at them, and realized it was Akira and Kei. "What do you want?" I muttered.

Kei didn't say anything, but Akira pointed at the table in front of her and smiled. I looked down, and saw three cups filled with hot tea. "Do you like tea, Yahiro?"

I was shocked that she was being so kind, after I've been so indifferent to her and Kei. I looked at Kei, and he gave me a half-smile as well.

"…Yeah."

Smiling brightly, Akira handed me a cup of tea, and I took a sip. "How does it taste?" she asked happily.

"It's good."

She giggled, picked up a second cup, and gave it to Kei. He took a sip and smiled. Seeing this, Akira picked up the last cup on the table and finally took a sip of the tea that she had prepared.

It was at this moment that I realized what a hypocrite I'd been. I always blamed others for judging me, but the truth was, I was the one always judging others. I never gave them a chance to be nice to me before I convicted them of being terrible and mean people.

Being with Akira and Kei, I realized that I had never experienced anything like this before. It was a nice feeling.

Maybe this is what they call…friendship.


	2. Chapter 2 : Forgotten Birthday

**Disclaimer: In no way do I own any of these characters, or the original story. They all belong to Minami Maki. **

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping and the sun shining brightly outside. It was what you could've said was a perfect day. That's what I thought too.

Until ten minutes later, that is.

I got dressed and went downstairs, only to find that nobody was home except for Tomo, our butler, and even he was too busy with housework to notice that I was there. I went up to him, tugged on the bottom of his shirt, and asked, "Tomo, where's Mommy? Where's Daddy?"

He didn't say anything for about a minute, and only looked at me with sad eyes, though I couldn't think of any reason why he would be sad. "I'm so sorry, Miss. They're on a business trip and left early this morning." He picked me up into his arms and said, "Happy birthday, Miss Akira." Tomo gave me a faint smile, and served me breakfast.

I sat waiting at the table while Tomo went to get my breakfast. Why weren't Mommy and Daddy here? They celebrated my birthday with me every year.

* * *

On my third birthday, Daddy told me, "When it's your birthday, you become a princess for one day."

"Only for one day?"

"Yes, sweetie. Just for one day. That's what makes it so special," Mommy said.

I laughed and replied, "Okay! Then I'll be Mommy and Daddy's princess every year!"

* * *

Tomo came out with a tray of white toast with butter, biscuits, fruits, and English breakfast tea. It was my favourite breakfast. As he placed the breakfast down in front of me, he said to me, "I was asked by your parents to prepare this for you. They really wish they were here, you know." With that, he walked out and left me eating all alone.

I took one bite out of the toast, but for some reason, it didn't taste good at all today. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for bread. I picked up a biscuit, and took a bite as well. It didn't taste good either, and the same went for the fruits. Even oranges, which were my favourite, tasted disgusting.

Finally, I picked up the cup of English breakfast. There wasn't anything I loved in this world more than tea. There was no way that it could taste bad. I took a sip, and at that moment, silent tears began to roll down my face and into the cup. For the first time in my life, I despised the taste of tea.

* * *

It had to be around three in the afternoon by now. I had skipped lunch, and didn't drink a single cup of tea. I spent the whole time since morning sitting on a swing in my backyard. I didn't want to see anyone, and I definitely didn't want anyone to see me.

Out of nowhere, an image of Kei and Yahiro popped into my mind. Where were they? Did they know it was my birthday? I'm pretty sure I told them last week. I began to feel really lonely again, when Tomo came out and told me there was a phone call for me. I followed him inside and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Akira? It's me, Kei."

"Kei? Hi." Did he remember?

"Happy birthday! Sorry I can't say it to you myself, but I'm in London right now. I've mailed the present to your house. Did you get it yet?"

Words couldn't express how happy I was. He remembered! He wasn't here, but it felt like he was right next to me. I could practically see his face as I listened to him speak.

"Thanks, Kei! It's alright…you called so it's okay. No, I haven't gotten your present yet, but I'll go check right after," I replied.

He gave a quick laugh. Have I ever heard him laugh before? I didn't think so. "Well…have fun okay? I have to go now. Dad's calling me again."

"Bye, Kei. Thanks again!"

"No problem! See you later!"

I hung up the phone, smiling for the first time today. I turned to Tomo, and asked, "Did a present come for me in the mail?"

He handed me a small parcel, and I opened it. Inside was a charm bracelet with a teacup charm on it. There was also a note. It said:

_HAPPY BIRTHDAY AKIRA!  
__Hope you like the bracelet.  
__-Kei_

I laughed and said out loud, "I love it. Thank you so much, Kei."

As I stood up to leave, Tomo commented, saying, "It's great to see that you have such good friends, Miss." I smiled and left the room, silently agreeing with what he said.

* * *

I sat in my room playing with my new bracelet, when I realized that even though Kei had wished me a happy birthday, Yahiro hadn't. I wondered where he was, and if he remembered. I was really tired, so I took a quick nap.

I was woken up by knocking at my bedroom door. I took a look at my clock, and realized I'd been asleep for almost two hours. "Come in," I said. It was probably Tomo coming in with some tea.

The door slowly opened, and to my surprise, it was Yahiro. "I made you tea, Akira," he said. He placed the tray down on the table, and we sat across down across from each other.

I picked up my cup of tea, and that was when I realized it wasn't my usual set of teacups. I was confused for a bit, but then it hit me. "Yahiro…did you…?"

He blushed and mumbled, "Happy birthday."

I smiled at him and said, "Thank you."

I took a sip and placed the cup down. When I did, Yahiro grabbed one of my hands and kissed it very lightly. He said a little louder than before, "Happy birthday, princess."

And for the next hour, we sat there in silence, blushing and drinking tea. Tomo was right. I did have good friends. _Really_ good friends.


End file.
